


Sand in my Toes

by makingitwork



Series: Bughead Prompts [5]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Disney References, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, Kinda, Princesses, bughead - Freeform, hero jughead, mermaid betty, preslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-28 01:41:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15037925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makingitwork/pseuds/makingitwork
Summary: Jughead sees a mermaid on the beach.





	Sand in my Toes

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by:
> 
> gay_for_rey1999, I hope you like it! 
> 
> Enjoy!

 

The sea's been calm all day, a restless basin of blue, barely a crest or a wave to be seen against the entire pink horizon. 

It's nearly dusk now, and the sun's a huge yellow ball in the distance. Jughead casts ripples as he rows the boat along, heading back across the gulf towards home. His laptop's tucked back safely into the waterproof packet in his satchel, and he feels pretty good. He did a lot of writing today, typing away, drifting aimlessly over the blue. 

It's warm now, cooler than it was when he set off, but still warm enough to warrant only his black vest and a thin, short sleeved overshirt, unbuttoned so it hangs around his green shorts. He'd long since abandoned his shoes back on the shore with his beanie, and the water that's seeped over the sides from some overzealous rowing, splashes around his toes on the wooden bottom of the quaint rowboat. 

He's so calm, from a day of quiet and relaxation, of finally being alone from the rest of the world. He loves being by himself sometimes, reverting into that solitude, and though it makes his dad anxious to see him alone, Jughead relishes in it. A sort of disconnect from society, a capability of being a true loner. 

He's so calm, so calm, that for a second, as his eyes flicker over the shore a little way behind the dock, he thinks that what he's seeing is a real mermaid. 

He freezes, eyes locking back over the figure, and frowning. He squints hard, and though he's pretty sure that what he's seeing lying on the edge of the sand is probably not a real mermaid, he's having trouble discerning what it could actually be. He's resolved to row towards the figure, when he realises he's already started to. It definitely  _looks_ like a mermaid, in the sky's pink hue, with a green tail on the lower half, and pearly pale skin on the top half, and as he's closer, he spots long, blonde hair, and if this isn't a mermaid and Jughead isn't about to become a discoverer, then he wonders what the hell-

"Betty?!" He calls, eyes wide and incredulous as his boat pulls closer. He'd recognise that face anywhere, even in profile. 

She whirls towards him, and yes, yes that  _is_ Betty. She waves towards him eagerly, calling something but he can't hear her over the splashing of his oars. He grunts, pulling and pushing harder, until the boat is sufficiently close enough, and then he's leaping over into the water that comes up to his knees. He catches the boat's rope tether and hauls it over his shoulder. He starts wading through the water, dragging the boat with him. It's cold, and the sand is slimy under his feet. But he regains his breath by the time he catches up to her. 

"Betty," he manages, dragging the boat ashore. 

"Jughead," she sounds so pleased to see him, so relieved, that he can't help his smile as he takes her in. 

She's sitting down, her legs presumably trapped within, what at closer appearance, is now quite clearly a green, scaled mermaid tail. She's wearing a pearl shaped, purple bikini and her hair is damp and hanging down over her shoulders. "Betty Cooper," he laughs, and she sulks up at him. "Did a wicked witch make an unfair deal and turn you into a mermaid?"

"It was a costume party," she huffs, crossing her arms, and Jughead laughs a little bit louder. She sticks her tongue out at him. "It's a long, horrible story that I don't particularly want to relive. The zipper won't go down without me tearing it, and my clothes are over at the dock. I can't crawl across this-" she grimaces and picks at the sand with her fingers "-believe me, I've tried,"

Jughead nods "it'll be impossible to get a grip in this," he says, his feet have already sunk into the soft wet sand. There's no friction there. "Well, never fear, Betty, your knight in shining armour is here," and he reaches down, and scoops her into a bridal carry.

She shrieks in his arms before whacking his shoulder and relaxing into him. "Don't mock me," she warns, thumbing the collar of his shirt. "A Hawaiian shirt, Jug? I'd threaten to expose you but no one would believe me." She bemoans exaggeratedly, a woe-is-me expression painted on her face. Jughead laughs louder, carrying her over to his boat and setting her down gently. She adjusts herself, using her arms to settle on the bench opposite the oars. "Thank you, though," she sighs "I've been here for hours." 

He frowns, pushing the boat back out into the water. "Betty, that's not safe. Where's your phone? What if I hadn't been out today?" He pushes until the water's waist high, and then jumps in himself. He scoffs when Betty arches an eyebrow at his antics. "What?" 

"Well one," she begins, brushing her hair with her fingers so it lies over one shoulder. Jughead tries not to look at the exposed bare skin there, but this is most revealed he's ever seen her. She's normally buttoned up so much. "It almost sounds like you're worried about me, which would ruin your loner aesthetic," he rolls his eyes fondly, beginning to row out as she continues "and two- picking me up? Rowing? Jumping into boats? When did you become such an athlete?" 

"I've got many layers, Betty Cooper," he laughs "it's part of my mysterious stranger aesthetic." 

She smiles softly, nodding as if to herself. "Were you out here doing some writing?" She asks, watching the way his muscles work as he rows them back out so they can change course towards the dock. 

"Yeah, still working on that pesky novel."

"Well, I hope you don't forget us when you become a rich and famous writer." 

Jughead throws her a look of mock scorn. "As if that's possible. I don't think I could forget this place even if I wanted to. Besides, I'd never want to forget  _you,_ Betty Cooper, you're my Ariel, aren't you? Though you do talk a lot..." she splashes water over the side of the boat onto his face, and he spits it out chuckling. 

She hums thoughtfully. "You do look like Eric, but Ariel is a redhead." She informs "much more Cheryl. I'm Cinderella." Her eyebrows lift in surprise as Jughead frowns at the words. "What? You don't like Cinderella?" 

"I have nothing against good old Cinders, but if you're anyone, you're Belle." At her look, he reluctantly expands. "A smart girl, too good for the small town she's trapped in, helping everyone before finally achieving her own glory? That's you." 

She blushes a little "but wouldn't that make you the beast?" 

Jughead grins coyly "why am I always your significant other? Maybe I'm in a different tale." 

Betty swallows, going a little more red. "I just meant- because you're saving me-"

"Save it, Cooper," Jughead replies merrily "I'm honoured to be your prince." He takes a break from rowing, letting the force and momentum he's created let drift them in the right direction for a few moments. He pushes a hand through his hair and examines her. She's still blushing a little, and he can see the freckles on her nose. He admires them as subtly as he can, and then his eyes drift down to her shoulders, still bare and enticing- he feels like some sort of Victorian gentlemen getting turn on by a frickin shoulder- before he notices her reddened skin. "Betty," he frowns, leaning forward and touching it gently. She looks at where he's touching her in surprise. "You're sunburnt," he states, eyes wide like it's obvious, and she shrugs a little. 

"Yeah, I guess I have been in the sun all day..."

He shakes his head, mouth in an angry line, and he ruffles through his bag. He finds his own bottle of sunblock, and squirts some into his hands. "Betty, you've got to be more careful, burns can  _hurt_ especially for people like us- pale as the moon, me and you. There's a princess for you- Snowwhite, and I'd like it if you didn't die on me." He reaches forward, without thinking, and starting rubbing it into her shoulders. Her eyes flutter shut as he rubs it in, but he doesn't notice, continuing his rant about not having any aftersun. 

After a few moments, he seems to realise that he's got his hands, his actual hands, on Betty Cooper, and he freezes.

He risks a look at her face and their eyes meet. He swallows; throat dry. 

Her eyes flicker once down to his lips, and then back to his eyes. 

"Have you finished?' She whispers, and he darts a look down at his hands. 

There's one speck of blue still left, just below her collar. 

He reaches his thumb down, so close to the swell of her breast that he has to take a breath, and rubs it clear. Then he's pulling away from her, wiping his hands on his legs and picking up the oars. 

"I'll uh- I'll drop you to the docks, and help you find your clothes. O-okay?"

Betty isn't really capable of forming words, so she just nods. But inside her heart is fluttering a little, at how much he clearly cares about her. She wonders if he even knows it yet. She reaches for the sunblock herself, and starts applying some to her face. It won't do much now- after exposure, but it's something to do as she watches Jughead apparently punish himself for touching her, and now confined to stony silence.

She thinks he probably thinks that she's still in love with Archie. But she's not. 

He'll realise one day, she says to herself, and when he does, or when he can allow that he might be good enough for her, because he's under some delusion he's not- they'll be together.

She just has to be patient. 

"We're definitely not Aladdin and Jasmine." She whispers, eyes scrutinising his face.

He doesn't look at her, but he frowns harder. "Aren't we?" He asks rhetorically "peasant lowlife trying to prove his worth to the unattainable princess?"

That makes her frown. Maybe she will be waiting for a long time. 

He catches her expression, and nudges her tail with his toe. "But I am definitely not into having a tiny, clothes wearing monkey running about my shoulders." It makes her laugh, which is what he was hoping for, and he returns to rowing, a less scowly expression on his face. "Maybe Lady and the Tramp," he murmurs, after a beat of silence of just the waves. "I make you a little wild, and you teach me how to love?"

Betty nods, smiling, but she still doesn't like that he's associating himself with the ruff, lowly outsider.

When they get to the dock, she lifts her arms obligingly for Jughead to lift her, and he does so with such a fond look on his face that she thinks she might burst. He lifts her easily onto the deck, and follows her instruction over to where she left her clothes. As he walks, he peers down at her face, her arms wound around his neck for grip. "Jughead Jones has Betty Cooper in his arms. Whatever would the world think?"

"Who cares what they'd think?" Betty huffs, watching her tail flick up and down to the beat of his steps. " _I_ think that if I ever had to be anyone's damsel, I'd be yours."

The honesty and bluntness seems to throw him for a second, and she watches his face to do complex series of changes, before settling on- what she would call- quietly pleased.  

He turns to watch the sea, back to her, as she changes into her clothes, breaking the tail off and vowing to never wear it again. When she's back into her shorts and t-shirt, sliding on her flip-flops, she sidles up to him, looking out over the gulf. Their feet are sandy, and their arms are linked, and she rests her head on his shoulder, sighing in contentedness. 

It's probably going to take a while, for Jughead to piece it all together, but he's smart and Betty has faith. The issue is not him deciphering whether or not she likes him, it's him figuring out whether or not he thinks he's good enough. He is, she wants to say, but he has to figure it out for himself. So instead, they watch the sunset in silence, her legs blissfully free. She wiggles her toes in the sand, and Jughead rests his head on hers. They fit together, perfectly. She hopes she'll have this for real soon. 

Just before she's about to pull away, because her mom will go crazy, his voice drifts out:

" _Maybe Phoebus and Esmerelda_."

She stiffens, keeping her eyes locked on the horizon, as he continues slowly, thoughtfully. She can feel the way his jaw moves as he speaks on her head, and it's so intimate, she shivers in the warm evening air.

"Captain of the Guard- Captain of the Serpents, disobeying his orders and the way of things because of the one he loves." His voice is slow, but steady enough, and Betty inwardly urges him to keep going, because this is a pairing where the man isn't socially below the woman. "Beautiful, talented gypsy, who has an inner strength that rivals the strongest guard- kind to the end but more than capable of wielding a knife."

Betty fights the urge to smile, because Jughead's pulled away and is looking at her now, eyes burning green and full of meaning. He stares at her, as if waiting for her to say something, as if waiting to be validated. But Betty's not going to tell him if he's right or wrong, if she knows him, and she thinks she does, she knows that eventually he will come to her, he'll kiss her, and then everything's going to be as it should be. So instead, she says. "You have a weird knowledge of disney princesses for a guy." 

She's thrown him, and she loves watching him laugh, eyes crinkling in delight. "Hey!" He jests, faux-insulted "I do have a little sister, you know." 

She rolls her eyes, heading back towards the cement steps leading up and away from the beach. "I've gotta head home, Juggie, but I'll see you in school on Monday, right?" 

"Wouldn't miss it," he murmurs, nodding his head at her. 

Her heart hurts as she walks away from him, worried about how long it'll take for him to figure it all out. 

"I had fun saving you, Juliet!" She hears over her shoulder "happy to do it anytime!" She turns to see Jughead rowing away, a winning smirk on his lips and she beams. 

Maybe not so long, after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments have been sooo sweet and nice, and I would love more and PROMPTS!
> 
> I have kinda an idea of by day some cute journalist betty and cute novelist jughead living in an apartment together, and then at night they becomes Dark Betty, and Juggie dons his jacket and his Penny cutting knife, and they go out and stop crime, or teaching bad guys a lesson, whaddya think?
> 
> Call me beep me if you wanna reach me- comment in da box my fairies who I love! xx


End file.
